The 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™ is getting closer – 78 days to go!

In less than three months' time – on 14 June, to be precise – the 21st FIFA World Cup™ kicks off at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium, as the hosts take on Saudi Arabia.

That leaves us plenty of time to enjoy a countdown. Between now and the start of the World Cup, we will take a closer look at a different statistic from the history of the tournament each day.

78 - The 1978 FIFA World Cup Argentina™ was full of drama and memorable moments. Led by Mario Kempes, the hosts won their first world title, while Tunisia became the first African side ever to win a match in the competition (against Mexico) and Austria beat neighbours Germany for the first time in 47 years. Another of the many highlights of the competition was the 1,000th goal in World Cup history, scored by the Netherlands’ Robert Rensenbrink from the penalty spot against Scotland in the group phase. Though the Dutch lost that game 3-2, they went on to reach their second consecutive Final, going down 3-1 to the hosts.

Twenty-eight years after Rensenbrink’s strike, Sweden’s Marcus Allback scored the 2,000th goal in the competition’s history, against England at Germany 2006. Mario Gotze’s winner in the Final of Brazil 2014 was the 2,379th in the history of the World Cup.